China withdrew a pledge not to send troops or administrators to Taiwan after regaining it, an official document showed on Wednesday, signaling a decision by President Xi Jinping to grant less autonomy than previously suggested.
China’s “white paper” on its stance on the island follows days of unprecedented Chinese military drills in protest at the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week.
Taiwan rejects China’s claims to sovereignty and says the island’s people must decide their future and vows to defend their democracy.
China had said in two previous documents on Taiwan, in 1993 and 2000, that it “will not send troops or administrative personnel to base itself in Taiwan” after achieving unification.
That determination, intended to grant Taiwan autonomy after becoming a special administrative region of China, is not included in the latest document.
The Communist Party of China had proposed that Taiwan could return to its rule under a “one country, two systems” model, similar to the formula under which the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997. This would offer some autonomy to Taiwan to partially preserve their social and political systems.
The 2000 “white paper” said that “anything can be negotiated” as long as Taiwan accepts that there is only one China and does not seek independence. This part has also been removed.
The new document is titled “The Taiwan Question and the Reunification of China in the New Age”. The “new era” is a term commonly associated with Xi’s rule.
Source: CNN Brasil
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